Another game, another win, another night watching Divock Origi destroy the Blues. Here’s all the derby reaction and the Liverpool news on Thursday.

Derby delight fallout

It’s hard to not be absolutely ecstatic and utterly satisfied with that Merseyside derby victory. And why shouldn’t we be? There were gulfs between the teams, absolute chasms, and the Reds wouldn’t have been flattered by an even greater margin of victory.

Super Sadio: So good he makes Messi marvel

It takes a special kind of player to wear the Liverpool No. 10 shirt with distinction, but Sadio Mane does exactly that.

He terrorised Everton on Wednesday night and was voted the fourth-best player in the world at the Ballon d’Or ceremony—but even that wasn’t good enough to fully reward the level he has reached this year, says Lionel Messi—not a bad No. 10 himself.

Indeed, the now-six-time-winner of the award voted for our Senegalese star and says it’s a shame that Mane didn’t rank higher.

Just take a moment to let that fully sink in: the world’s greatest talent, not just this year but possibly in the history of the game, says our forward should have been higher than the fourth-best on the planet.

“It’s a shame to see Mane finish in fourth place.

“But I think there have been a lot of great players this year. That’s why it was difficult to choose a particular player. But I chose Sadio Mane because he’s a player that I like.

“Mane achieved a great year that was exceptional for the entire Liverpool team. That’s why I chose him. I repeat, there were a lot of very great players this year, so the choice was difficult.”

Come and play with him at Anfield if you like, Leo lad? Might have to change your shirt number, though.

Quickfire LFC news

TV presenter Peter McDowall has shared a photo of a recovering Dominic Matteo, who had life-saving surgery a month ago (@Petermcdowall10)

Chelsea will rival the Reds to sign Jadon Sancho…if their transfer ban is overturned (Goal)

The Reds and Arsenal want Karim Adeyemi, a young forward from RB Leipzig currently on loan at Liefering (Sport)

And finally, the highlights video (posted above) of Liverpool’s unforgettable comeback win over Barcelona in last season’s Champions League semi-final was 2019’s most-watched video in the UK, reaching 9.8m views (Evening Standard)

Around the Prem

Unsurprisingly, an absolute battering at Anfield looks set to be Marco Silva’s last memory of Merseyside as he faces the sack (BBC Sport)

Arsenal want Patrick Vieira to replace Unai Emery as manager – he must have more club DNA in his body than Freddie Ljungberg (Nice-Matin)

Man United might offer Nemanja Matic in a part-exchange deal for Christian Eriksen, as Matic looks to become Mourinho’s version of the Harry Redknapp-Niko Kranjcar transfer trail (the Athletic)

Worth watching tonight

Arsenal vs. Brighton (8:15pm) is the pick of the Premier League games, still on Amazon. If watching Liverpool is more your thing, they are against River Plate at 8pm. That’s the Uruguayan version of both those teams, mind…